Friends Who Are Going

Friends Attending

Friends Attending

Friends Attending

Description

Identity politics is the subject of increasing right wing attention and ridicule. It is a term bandied about to dismiss genuine grievances people have about the status quo and their positions in the world. A term which is likewise rarely defined and often means different things for different groups. When those on the right are making their critiques it is conveniently forgotten that these identities are not chosen by us but thrust upon us against the backdrop of various systems of oppression.

Yet at the same time those on the right are increasingly utilising the language of identity politics to further their own regressive agendas without the same level of scrutiny. Does the ability of the right to co-opt the language of identity highlight the limitations of this framework?

Ignoring the right wing critiques of identity, there is something to be said about the way that identity can ignore the complexities and contradictions that often exist within totalizing categories such as race, gender and sexuality. It can be argued that making identity the governing framework of political engagements can mask dynamics such as power, empire or desire that determine our social and political world.

Can we ever be free as long as we frame ourselves through the prism of identity? Or, if we carefully consider the context for identity politics, is it possible for us to create something more emancipatory?

This panel will aim to explore all of this and much more.

Panellists:

Dr Sita Balani (Goldsmiths University and Birkbeck College)

Dalia Gebriel (Writer, student and organizing member of Rhodes Must Fall)

Bridget Minamore (Poet and Writer)

Dr Robbie Shilliam (Queen Mary University)

This is a ticketed event but as always if you can’t pay email us consenteduk@gmail.com

This event will take place on the 14th September, arrive from 6pm for a 6.30pm start at SOAS Alumni Lecture Theatre (Senate House Building).